1992 Pontiac Grand Am 2.3L Quad-4 (SOHC) Overheating

Been having trouble with my Grand Am,

After driving about 10 miles, my Engine reaches running temp (strait up on the temp gauge (no numbers)). Every time I come to a stop light for more than a minute, my temp gauge rises to the right, but as I begin to move, the temp goes back down. IT dosen't apper to be the fan, although it might be ( fan has a habit of going out, had to change relay twice). I also have an oil leak coming from the driver side (power steering pump side) of the Engine. I don't know if the two of these are related or not.

Reply to
brads
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All by itself the temp gauge rising a bit while at a stop is not alarming. It's normal because there is no airflow through the radiator. Once the engine reaches a certain temperature the fan should kick in and bring the car back to a slightly lower temperature. This should happen if you're standing still or moving slowly in traffic. If you're tooling down the highway the fan will often not come on at all.

So, how much does your temp rise at a stop light? If you just let the car idle curbside, does it rise to a point and then fall again when the fan starts? If so, it's working as it should. Some cars have a really sluggish temperature gauge and you often won't notice much movement of the temp gauge at an idle, but others show a pretty noticeable movement. As long as it's not going up close to the red zone you really don't have a problem.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

that's the problem, i've noticed it running all the way to the red. This gets especially bad if it has been running for a longer time, then I stop.

IE I go down the Interstate for 2 hours, then pull in to town and at a stop start to overheat badly.

Reply to
brads

It sure sounds like the fan is not coming on.

Reply to
=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul

Brad, that quad-4 had a history of heating problems--to do with the head and/or head gasket. Time to get it checked out/fixed before major trouble develops. See any moisture on the dipstick or in crankcase oil? s

Reply to
sdlomi2

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